The Courage of Stars
by theletterdee
Summary: a series of oneshots of our faves set in the Mass Effect: Andromeda universe with Matthew Lawson as the unexpected Pathfinder in charge of finding a home in the Andromeda Galaxy. While managing political debates, warfare with a hostile race, and exploring a vast galaxy to find supplies to survive, Matthew and his motley crew aboard the Tempest find a family within themselves.
1. Matthew Wakes Up (And Meets Alice)

He woke with a gasp, his body freezing and limbs heavy.

He sat up, pulling himself forward with a groan.

"Hey, hey, take it easy." Hands, warm on his shoulders, prevented him from going any further. He looked up at two cryo technicians standing over him.

"I've been taking it easy for six hundred years," He rasped out, one hand already massaging at his right knee, anticipating stiffness. "Where's my cane?"

"Lawson, Matthew. Security and Recon specialist. Pathfinder Mission Team."

Matthew nodded.

"Pathfinder team, eh?" The other cryo tech smiled at him, "you're the ones who're going to find us a new home."

"Can I request somewhere warm?" The first tech drawled.

Matthew smiled a bit at their banter, but as far as he knew, there was no choice in where humanity's new home was going to end up being. That had been decided back in the Milky Way.

The second tech playfully swatted the other's arm, "How about we get him a cup of coffee before badgering him, hm?" They turned back to him, "Your cane is in medical, Lawson, would you like some help getting there?"

He frowned a bit, preferring to walk on his own (even with the assistance of the cane), but years of dealing with his old injury helped tamper down his pride when asking for help. "I would, thank you. And can that coffee be tea instead? I can't stand coffee."

As the techs hoisted him up off the hard cot, they laughed, "We'll see what we can do, Lawson."

* * *

"Matthew!" A familiar voice rang out as soon as the cryo techs eased him down onto a cot in the medical part of cryo bay. He looked up to see the beaming face of his old childhood friend.

"Lucien Blake, well I never," Matthew grinned as Lucien clasped his hand warmly between his own.

"It's Doctor now, Matthew, but it's so good to see you."

"Likewise. How've you been?"

The light in his old friend's eyes dimmed a bit, but the grin stayed on his face and Matthew wondered what had happened in the years they spent apart. Instead of pushing, Matthew just squeezed Lucien's hands with a smile. The smile was returned and Lucien patted his hand fondly.

"Excellent, yes, very excellent now that you're awake," Lucien dropped Matthew's hand to put one on his shoulder. "We'll run some tests, see how you're feeling after the six hundred year nap."

"I was promised a cuppa."

Lucien laughed lightly, "I'll get that for you, still take your tea the same?"

"Like I'd ever change that."

"No, you wouldn't." Lucien smiled, "I'll get it for you or send someone over with it, along with your cane. In the meantime, Doctor Harvey will run your physical and mental checks. Doctor Harvey?"

Lucien clapped him one more time on the shoulder before he swept off through medical, his white coat (a nostalgic ancient Terran item that had been his father's) billowing behind him.

"Matthew Lawson?" A human woman, dark red hair cut precisely at her jaw, walked up to him, her eyes on the datapad in her hands. She too wore a white coat like Lucien, evidently fond of the phased out garment as much as him.

"That's me," he straightened.

"Doctor Alice Harvey. Let's get you checked out," She put the datapad down on the cot next to him and peered at him before lifting up her activated omni tool. "Look here, please."

He looked at the brightly glowing orange light as it scanned his body and then up at the face of the woman in front of him as she tapped the holographic interface on her forearm. The orange of her omni tool highlighted the sharpness of her features, her jawline and cheekbones standing out the most.

"Looks good," Alice deactivated the interface and leaned forward. Her thin fingers probed the lymph nodes under his jaw and along his throat, slightly cooler than his skin (now finally warmed up from cryo).

Her position brought her face close to Matthew's, her blue-gray eyes focused on the task before her. He swallowed a bit thickly, shifting awkwardly at someone invading his personal space. Dr. Harvey didn't seem to notice, a few strands of her hair fell in front of her face as she nodded to herself, evidently happy with the results of her examination.

"We just have to check your SAM implant, but everything physical looks good."

Matthew cleared his throat, "Glad to know I'm in one piece after being turned into a popsicle for centuries."

The corner of her mouth twitched upward slightly, appreciating his dry humor. He watched as Alice walked around to a console, typing away and talking to the hologram of SAM. As she worked on testing the connection between him and the artificial intelligence, Lucien popped back over with a steaming cup of black tea, just the way he liked it, and his familiar cane. Matthew nodded his thanks and Lucien smiled before going across from him to care for the young man with blond hair still blinking from the cryostasis.

"Everything checks out, Mr. Lawson," Alice walked back over to stand in front of him, picking up the datapad to his side. "We're about to revive your sister, though, and sometimes a fami-"

The lights in cryo flickered shortly before the room shook and shuddered.

"That," Matthew slid to his feet, hand already wrapping around the handle of his cane, "did not sound good."

The room shuddered again and then lurched. All of them were thrown from their feet. Matthew landed hard on his side, briefly knocking the wind out of him. Alice coughed next to him, shaking her head slightly as she pushed herself up on her elbows. Matthew looked up at a scraping sound as a bulky cryo pod slid towards the two of them. He pulled himself closer to Alice, throwing an arm over her, bracing for the impact of the pod.

His stomach flipped as the gravity within cryo suddenly switched off and the two of them floated up off the floor, the cryo pod sailing over their heads to bump against the bulkheads behind them.

"What's going on?" Alice asked in the circle of his arms, her hair floating up around her head in a dark halo. Her hands gripped his biceps tightly, afraid to go too far from him while they drifted up.

"I don't know, are you alright?"

She nodded, her eyes still a little wild. He noticed a red spot on her forehead, slowly darkening, but she didn't seem worse for wear.

A familiar voice echoed through the cryo bay over the loudspeaker, " _I'm almost inside! Hold on!_ "

Matthew twisted in midair, Alice still loosely floating in his arms, to see the one and only Jean Beazley pull herself into the bay. Her familiar chestnut curls were half pinned back from her face, the rest floating around her head as she goes over to the control panel on the inside of the door.

"This is Beazley, I'm in the cryo bay! Brace for impact." Jean efficiently punched a code into the control panel and everyone (and everything) fell to the ground.

Matthew groaned as his back hit the floor and Alice landed on top of him.

"Oh!" She gasped and pushed herself up off him. "Oh, I am so sorry."

"S'fine."

"Matthew?" Jean's concerned voice made him sigh. "Lucien?"

He pushed himself up, startling Alice. She stood and offered her hand, pulling him up off the floor. Matthew leaned up against the cot since his cane had disappeared, and looked up in time to see Jean pulling Lucien up off the floor. His old friends looked surprised to see each other, but fond smiles crossed both their faces. Jean looked over at him, keen eyes looking him over from across the room.

Lucien's eyes never left Jean's face.

He continued to watch her as she walked over to Matthew. Jean paused halfway and picked up Matthew's cane, handing it over to him as she arrived by his side.

"Thank you, Jean."

"Are you alright?"

"A bit sore, and still tired," he sighed. "What happened?"

Jean shrugged, one of her hands resting on Matthew's shoulder, "Sensors are scrambled, so we don't really know what's going on. But it's good to see you, Matthew, it's been ages."

Matthew huffed a dry laugh, "You too."

" _This is the Pathfinder._ " Doug Ashby's voice crackled through the loudspeaker, echoing across the level. " _Mission teams, continue preparations. Jean, Lawson, report to the bridge._ "

"You heard him, Matthew, I'll meet you by the door?"

He nodded, watching her walk away, smiling at Lucien approaching Jean almost immediately.

"You know Lucien?" Alice asked, her omni tool out and ready, giving him another quick scan, making sure he didn't suffer any injury in the brief loss of gravity.

Matthew made a noise of agreement, "Childhood friends before his father sent him off for schooling. Jean too. She stayed longer before going off to the Asari for training."

"Fascinating."

He smiled, "Funny how life pulls us all together."

"It is. You seem no worse for wear, Mr. Lawson."

"It's Matthew, Doctor." He turned his smile to her, widening it to a grin at the faint blush on her cheeks.

"Alice, then."


	2. Post Habitat 7

Matthew woke to a splitting headache.

" _Welcome back, Matthew_ ," the cool, mechanical tones of SAM filled his ears.

He opened his eyes and sat up slowly, this wasn't med bay, this was SAM node. ' _What am I doing here?_ '

"What happened?" He asked SAM.

" _You were clinically dead for twenty-two seconds._ "

A memory sparked. _Habitat 7, their golden world, a mess of floating rocks and devastating lightning. The shuttle crash, Simmons and Hobart wounded. Strange aliens, violent in nature as they killed Kirkland without a second thought. The strange, smooth tower where Doug stopped the storms and the sudden electric storm coming from within the tower that pushed both of them over the cliff._

"And the others?"

 _Lucien and Jean kneeling over him, Doug nowhere in sight. Something about cardiac arrest and seizures. He was brought back to the Ark, Alice suddenly over him as she and Lucien debated on how to help. He reached for her, she gently put his hand down, her fingers grasping his._

"You're still with us!" Lucien interrupted his thoughts as he stood up from the floor next to Matthew's cot. His omni tool glowed as he spoke into it, "Jean."

" _Is Matthew alright?_ " Jean's voice, slightly tinny through the glowing interface.

"Yes, he's awake."

" _We'll be right there._ "

"Who were you talking to, Matthew?" Lucien's hand on his shoulder was a comforting weight.

"SAM."

"I didn't hear him."

Matthew shrugged as Jean and Alice rushed into SAM node. Jean's blue green eyes scanned his face worriedly, looking for any sign of trouble as Alice tapped her omni tool.

"Look here," she commanded him, moving two fingers in front of his face, guiding him through a small medical examination.

Matthew followed her fingers, his eyes landing on Doug's helmet on the console next to him, "Where's Doug?"

All three of them looked at each other, shock and sadness etched into the lines on their faces. Jean sighed, "He… It was your life or his, Matthew, and he chose you."

The news felt like a sucker punch to the gut. Matthew leaned forward and put his head in his hands, feeling Jean add her warm hand to his back alongside Lucien's. Doug Ashby, his mentor, _their_ mentor, was gone. They'd traveled for 600 years through dark space to a new galaxy, a new beginning, only for their Pathfinder to die within a day.

"Right," he cleared his throat and sat up. "I suppose you're Pathfinder now, Jean."

"Actually…" Lucien answered as Jean looked down at the floor. His old friend struggled to find whatever words he was looking for.

"Pathfinder Ashby transferred the Pathfinder authority to you, Matthew," Alice answered for him. "When you were… well, when you were dying on the planet, he transferred it to you then. Your brain and nervous system were overloaded and we had to do a hardwire connection here in SAM node in order to save you."

"What does that mean?"

"It means SAM is a part of you in a way we don't really understand. Your body and SAM are entangled in such a way that separating you would… would kill you."

"So?"

"In theory, I'm supposed to be the Pathfinder, Matthew," Jean crossed her arms. "In reality, you are."

"I'm sorry, Jean."

"Hey," gentle fingers tapped his cheek and Matthew looked up to see a teary-eyed Jean smiling softly at him. "Don't be. This throws a wrench in our plans a bit, but we'll get through this. I'm just glad you're alive, Matthew Lawson."

Matthew smiled back, his hand covering Jean's, patting it even as his fingers shook. _Together_. That's what would keep them going into the unknown.

Being Pathfinder wasn't something he expected to become, but at least he had more than enough people to rely on in the coming days.


	3. Interlude: Jean and Lucien Have A Moment

"How's he doing?"

Jean looked up from her vigil beside Matthew's cot at the offered cup of tea in Lucien's hand. She accepted the gift and cradled the steaming mug in her chilled hands. Taking a sip, she couldn't hide the surprise off of her face at the tea being exactly like she usually prepared it.

Beside her, Lucien chuckled, "I may not have been around a lot lately, but I'm still observant."

She hummed in disbelief, but answered his original question all the same. "No change, but SAM assures me Matthew is recovering."

"Good. Good." Lucien sat down beside her, blowing softly on his own mug before drinking.

Jean hummed again, staring into her tea, avoiding Lucien's gaze. She could practically feel his eyes slowly sweeping over her profile, drinking her in after so many years apart. His gaze had always been piercing, even as a child, it was one of the things Jean had admired quietly about him. Those nearly crystalline blue eyes had haunted her dreams even after Thomas Blake sent his son away from the Ballarat colony for better schooling.

Lucien's eyes shifted to Matthew lying unconscious before them, "I really do hope he's okay. We've a lot of catching up to do."

"All of us do."

"Speaking of which… I was unaware you were a biotic."

Jean inhaled somewhat sharply. Lucien hadn't been around to see the development of her powers like Matthew. He hadn't been there when she nearly killed a fellow classmate for belting Matthew one too many times under the stairwell at their school. He hadn't been there when she found out she could bend steel with her mind, and he hadn't been there when she and Matthew joined the Alliance military together at eighteen.

"It… happened after you were gone."

"It's impressive."

Jean breathed and swore she could smell the burning ozone of Habitat 7's lightning dancing all around her as she threw up a shimmering biotic shield to protect Lucien and the injured Ned Simmons down on the planet. She blinked and the smell melded into the cool, antiseptic smell of SAM node. "It's nothing, really."

A hand landed on her forearm, "I don't think it's nothing, Jean."

"You're still a charmer, Lucien Blake." Jean looked up and met his eyes, her cheeks growing warm at the look of adoration on his face. She tried to ignore the plummeting feeling in her stomach at that look, her own probably mirroring Lucien. Years had passed since Christopher's death, but it still felt fresh. A part of her, a large part of her, felt guilt at the prospect of moving on while her husband lay buried a galaxy away and her boys still in cryostasis.

There was a small part of her that ached for the companionship she had with her husband. And that small part of her with it's traitorous voice whispered that maybe Lucien could fill that empty space inside of her. Even with the ease of falling back into conversation and silence with him, the years and decades apart stretched out between them, forming an invisible wall that neither were sure wanted to be breached. Not now, not yet. Maybe not ever. His eyes held secrets and a darkness that hadn't been there before, and her own body held the scars of a hard, but fulfilling past.

"Does that mean my charms still work, then?" An easy, boyish grin spread across Lucien's face, lighting up his eyes as the skin wrinkled around them. Another thing to add to the list of things different about him after their separation. Still, she couldn't help but return the smile, albeit smaller and shyer.

"Maybe." Jean answered, her voice teasing. Lucien only laughed lightly in response.

That wall wouldn't be torn down in a day, but they had time to spare.


End file.
